No mask mandates at Windsor hospitals [Video]

As hospitals elsewhere in Ontario reintroduce mask mandates due to rising respiratory illnesses, Windsor hospitals are taking a more measured approach.

At Windsor Regional Hospital, staff indicated that COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses remained under control.

Director of Infection Prevention and Control for WRH, Erica Vitale, noted that as of Wednesday morning, WRH had 15 patients with COVID-19, compared to 24 at the same time last year.

“We’re really looking at our trends on a week-to-week basis,” said Vitale. “That doesn’t mean that something could change drastically in the next couple of weeks.”

Vitale explained that other respiratory viruses, including the common cold, were responsible for a larger share of local illnesses than COVID-19 at the moment.

Rhinovirus and enterovirus accounted for about 18 per cent of positive tests, while the hospital had yet to see any major flu or RSV activity. COVID-19 test positivity sat at 13 per cent …